Hankook Ventus race rock Hungaroring

In what has been the hottest race of the SUPERSTARS and GT SPRINT INTERNATIONAL SERIES so far, Hankook’s Ventus race tyres displayed an impressive level of performance and durability with track temperatures at the Hungaroring peaking at 59 degree celcius challenging tyres and drivers alike.

Despite the tricky temperature and track conditions the high-profile drivers maintained their breath-taking pace during all races at the Hungraoring this weekend, relying on the Hankook Ventus race tyres. The combination of extremely high track temperatures and increasing formation of dust on the track surface proved to be the main challenges over the course of the weekend. Keeping the ideal line was crucial and the Ventus slicks, challenged not only by the extreme conditions but also the Formula 1 track’s high sided kerbs, showed remarkable levels of performance and safety in fierce battles for the lead in all races.

Former Formula 1 driver Tonio Liuzzi, who scored a lights-to-flag victory in the first SUPERSTARS SERIES round at the Hungaroring, described what it felt like to race in the scorching Hungarian sun: “It has been a really difficult race. Especially in these extremely hot conditions saving the rear tyres has been a challenge and keeping the control during the entire race has been hard.” With view on tyre performance and car set-up Liuzzi concluded “I have to say the tyres have done really well and they coped really well with the conditions. We found the balance, the power, the camber and the best technical parts to cope with the heat so it worked really well.”

After having cruised to a double win, Andrea Pala, current championship leader in the GT SPRINT SERIES explained that the piling dust on that circuit made it a real challenge to keep the ideal line and avoid tyre graining: “Even if you paid a lot of attention it was really hard to not go out of the way but the tyres were really well balanced.”

The weekend’s races saw Tonio Liuzzi (Mercedes C63 AMG/CAAL Racing) emerge as championship leader in the SUPERSTARS SERIES, ahead of Thomas Biagi (BMW M3 E92/Team BMW Dinamic) and Johan Kristoffersson (Audi RS5/KMS). The GT SPRINT is lead by Andrea Palma (Ferrari 458/Black Team), followed by Glauco Solieri (Prosche 997/Autorlando Motorsport) and Mario Cordoni (Ferrari 458)/Ombra Racing Team). Both series will be back in Spa on the 15th July.

For more information on Hankook’s engagement in the SUPERSTARS and GT SPRINT INTERNATIONAL SERIES please visit us at http://www.hankooktire-press.com/